Thursday, March 27, 2008

Good news for hypocrites

Imagine getting that roll off your gut and seeing a rippled six pack take its place just by sitting calming and imagining it. Yeah baby. And better yet, imagine being able to get up afterwards and gorge until you puked.

Now that's what I'm talkin' about.

Here's the good news: There might be beneficial neurological changes associated with periodically concentrating on feeling intense love and kindness for all beings. [See: "The Lotus and the Synapse," by Sharon Begley. Newsweek. March 25, 2008.]

Periodically. The "good news" is that you don't really have to give a hoot about all beings. The case of the Dalai Lama, that callous prick, teaches us that one can gorge on veal, pate, and squab, just so long as one occasionally sits quietly and feels empathic and compassionate. (My ass.)

The case of Richard Davidson suggests that one can gain the benefits of concentrating on loving kindness, and then get up and frighten the hell out of experimentally brain-damaged monkeys.

Now you can have your cake and eat it too! (Or, in this case, enjoy the benefits of loving-kindness while grinding sentient beings under your heel.)